Review of Plane Castle
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143 reviews
13 hotel reviews
93 helpful votes
I have been leaving reviews on trip advisor for many years with many reviews and many countries under my belt. In that time I have only left one bad review. This IS SORT OF the second.
I book most of our trips myself, therefore do a lot of research to find great places & locations for good prices. I planned a trip in August for 14 persons from Australia, all over 50 for 4 weeks through London, Paris, Scotland and Ireland. Took me months of research, but got it done.
I found Plane Castle and after researching, checking reviews, and emailing Sonya, the owner, I decided to book the Manor and the Tower for our group of 14. I kept this as the one and only surprise for the trip, after all, staying in a castle for 8 nights Wow!
Well, its a wonderful place and it could be much better. Many years ago the castle itself was in terrible disrepair and a ruin at best. It was rebuilt by previous owners, and then in recent years leased/sold to the current owners. This place could be so wonderful!
Even though we had a great time there, cause we were with an amazing group of people, the castle itself after a few days became a little disappointing, as it has low maintainance and lot of things not fixed, and in disrepair. But overall clean!
The Manor side, consists of a kitchen, dining, a nook (small lounge) the main hall and four bedrooms. Overall this side wasnt too bad but it could do with a bit of maintainance. There was spiderwebs everywhere, and the kitchen cupboards were really dirty inside from people doing fuctions there. I dont think they get cleaned (or checked) between tenants.
The Tower is four stories high with kitchen on bottom floor, dining on first floor, third floor has two bedrooms and a bathroom, and on the fourth floor is the lounge room which also has sofa beds for 4 persons in it and magnifient views of the countryside. This side was very bad with upkeep, the cemented/stone stairs were quite dangerous, as a lot of them were broken away, and one of ourgroup actually slipped and hurt himself where it had broken away. I do appreciate that its an old tower with small spiral staircases, but when your dealing with hospitality, you have to be on top of your maintainance. The shower nozzle in this side was broken, and we taped it up with sticky tape to hold it in place, we informed them, but it never got fixed. The central heating leaked for the entire time we were there all over the kithen floor.
When we arrived we walked through beautiful old iron gates into the courtyard, first thing were greeted by is empty beer cartons in the pond. They actually stayed there for a few days till one of the group fished it out.
The fireplace in the Manor in the great hall was blocked, but they didnt tell us. They provided wood etc for sale, so naturally we went ahead and smoked the whole place out. They did know it was blocked by a crows nest apparently, but didnt tell us. We had several asthmatics in our group and I myself have pulmonary sarcoidosis, last thing I needed. It took me and the others with asthma quite a few days to get over it. All they had to do was say it was blocked by a birds nest, so dont light it. We actually left a little hidden sign warning the next tenant not to get caught. Maybe they could have cleared the nest! just like we do in our chimneys.
The owners seemed very nice people and tried to be helpful when they could. They answered any questions etc and provided any info for us. They also arranged a bus to and fro Edinburgh for us, which we appreciated. Just very slow on any maintainance issues we told them about.
I was just a little disapointed it wasnt better maintained better. The cleanliness wasnt too bad, it was mainly the kitchens not being cleaned properly from prior tenants and functions. They said they sell it as "quirky" but spiderwebs and dirty kitchenware etc isnt quirky, its lazy.
But please, before you think I'm being picky, maybe I am but we have a hotel here in australia, and deal with customers and tenants all the time, and I know how important maintainance, upkeep, cleanliness is, PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING! We are constantly fixing and tidying things up. Like I said its not a real bad review just a review cause I was disappointed not with the castle itself, but the maintaince side of things. I have thought long and hard for the last month about what i would write, cause like I said the only other bad review was for the was museum in Rome. OMG. Haha.
I would recommend this for short stays, but I found the longer we were there the more I found. It has so much potential and they could do so much more and stay true to the era to which Plane castle was built.
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34 reviews
7 hotel reviews
22 helpful votes
We booked Plane Castle for our August 2016 wedding and we are so glad we did. The location is perfect, not far from Glasgow but enough out of the way to be secluded. From the very first meeting with Sonja and Stephen we instantly knew this was the place we wanted to get married in. We wanted to have a small wedding and have somewhere for guests to sleep. Throughout the whole process Sonja was on hand to help with any questions and let us visit as many times as we needed to get things planned. The venue has a large hall, lots of bedrooms with two kitchens and lots of garden outside to run around. We hired a bouncy castle for the kids and had a bbq on the friday nigh, the kids were in their element running around the castle and finding secret passages. The wedding day itself was incredible, we got married in the courtyard and with the sun shining it really was the perfect day. Sonja and Stephen made sure everything ran smoothly and went above and beyond many many times throughout the weekend, I know for a fact we wouldn't have been given same level of service had we picked elsewhere. All the staff who work there was fantastic and the food for our wedding meal with top notch. In regards to value for money I can't stress enough how good Plane Castle is, if you are looking for a unique, charming venue that is looked after by a great team of people then please do not hesitate to book this place, everyone keeps telling us what a fantastic time they had and they all want a reunion at the castle in the future which i have no doubt we will do.
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
| Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
| Service |
| Friends getaway | Families with young children |
| Large groups |
- Was the property as advertised?
- Would you recommend the location of this property?
- Was it a good value for the price paid?
- Was your security deposit returned on time?
34 reviews
20 hotel reviews
27 helpful votes
A quirky castle, steeped in Scottish history, was bound to impress the English contingent in our wedding party, but even the weather conspired to make the day memorable by suddenly turning warm and sunny. Sonja's discreet supervision of proceedings ensured that the day ran smoothly. However, the icing on the cake was the appearance, after the ceremony, by the Humanist celebrant, Melanie, who made a quick change into her riding gear and returned with her horse, Charlie, to provide a unique photo opportunity for bride and groom on horseback
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
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2 reviews
Staying at Plane Castle is living the rich heritage of ancient Scotland - it is located in an area where nearly every hilltop has a ruin. This building was lovingly and brilliantly restored to be both historically accurate as well as safe, warm and comfortable. The spacious kitchen and dining hall are both excellent for family gatherings of 10 people.
Located on a quiet one-lane road, there is good walking and biking in both directions with views of old and new worlds juxtaposed: farm fields, ruined castles, windpower infrastructure and modern transit.
The host gave us a vivid tour of our abode, and excellent written directions for some off-the-beaten-track walks to nearby ruins. It was excellently situated for trips to Stirling, Bannockburn and Falkirk Wheel.
We especially loved the umbrella stand containing play swords, axe and shield, the mysterious gardens, the circular stone staircase and the ceiling mural in the dining hall.
Note to gourmet cooks: there is a washer, dishwasher, stove, fridge, toaster, kettle, french press and microwave. Kitchen implements are plentiful but rustic. Bring your own staples and chef's knives, fry pans, cutting board etc if you are particular about this sort of thing.
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
| Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
| Service |
| Friends getaway | Families with young children |
| Large groups |
1 review We were 15 norwegian guys having a stag party at the Plane Castle. Before our stay, Sonja was very helpful with suggesting activities and how we could arrange ourselves with food and transportation. We did the Mini Highland Games and banquet, and I would stongly recommend both. The castle itself was high above our expectations, lots of space and well decorated rooms, a big kitchen, awesome tower, and so on. All in all the castle and the activities were absolutely perfect for a stag party, and I would guess also for any kind of group events. Sonja and Steve were both exceptional hosts, we got all the help we needed with practical matters, and they had a lot of great stories about the castle and area. Both the coming groom and the rest of the party were extremely satisfied, and we would strongly recommend a stay at Plane Castle.
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
| Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
| Service |
| Friends getaway | Large groups |
- Was the property as advertised?
- Would you recommend the location of this property?
- Was it a good value for the price paid?
- Was your security deposit returned on time?
2 reviews Sonja and Steve were so welcoming, the castle is beautifully kept, has so many nooks and crannies to explore. We made great use of the large garden for games, had guests in every room, and tried to use every main room to celebrate in. A wonderful venue that I couldn't recommend highly enough. Many thanks
| How easy was it to book the property? | How helpful were the directions to the property? |
| How easy was key pickup/access to the property? | Overall condition of the property |
| Bedding & mattresses | Kitchen & utensils |
| Bathroom cleanliness | Other facilities & amenities |
| Service |
| Friends getaway | Families with young children |
| Large groups |
- Was the property as advertised?
- Would you recommend the location of this property?
- Was it a good value for the price paid?
- Was your security deposit returned on time?
1 review
Fantastic venue with great and helpful hosts!
Our trip included highland games and whisky tasting.
Was very accommodating and would certainly recommend for a long weekend!
